MOSCOW. May 15 (Interfax) - The number of complaints submitted to Russian human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova about acts of torture or use of other illegal methods to obtain evidence from the accused or convicts slightly decreased in 2022, the annual report on the results of her activity suggests.
Moskalkova received 47 complaints about use of torture on the part of law enforcement officers in 2022 against 66 such applications recorded in 2021. Fifty-six applications were about illegal methods used to collect evidence, including falsifications and use of inadmissible evidence, compared to 68 in 2021, and 16 about psychological pressure in the form of denial of visits by family members to prison or not permitting phone calls with relatives, versus 19 in 2021. Another 49 complaints were related to a breach of professional ethics by officers employed at law enforcement agencies and courts, versus 55 in 2021, the report says.
In 2022, Moskalkova was able to restore the rights of two people who applied on these grounds, it says.
"A solution to this problem was seen, in part, in adding a special rule to the Penal Code to criminalize such acts as 'torture'. In view of this, a working group was set up under the ombudsman to prepare proposals on amending existing laws by way of establishing criminal liability for torture. The lawmaker considered our proposals and passed the long-awaited bill in 2022. It is hoped that with the adoption of the bill, the number of instances where illegal methods of influence are used in the course of criminal investigations would be reduced dramatically," the document says.
Moskalkova said earlier on May 12 that since the enactment of the bill on criminal penalties for officers using torture last summer, the number of applications she received concerning this problem has dropped.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the bill stipulating tougher penalties for acts of torture into law on July 14, 2022. The document added the concept of 'torture' to existing Penal Code articles about abuse of office and forced confession. The amendments to existing laws made under the bill see criminal liability for law enforcement and court officers using torture while on duty. If found guilty, they will now face four to fifteen years in jail.